Arena Football Team Returns To Kansas City As ‘The Command’

Kansas City's returning Arena Football League team now has a new name, and it is The Kansas City Command. In ceremonies during an NBA exhibition game at Sprint Center, the winners were announced, with a surprise. Instead of one winner, there were three. All selected the winning name, and each was awarded a prize.The winners were Glynda Wilson and Lynn Schmidt, both of North Kansas City, and Gwen Schreiner of Johnson County. There were over 1500 entries, and many were great choices. "Kansas City really put on their thinking caps with this one. So many good ideas and concepts, but in the end a combined team from Sprint and us kept coming back to The Command. This is a military and Air Force term for an area of responsibility in a unit or installation, and shows the control we will have as a team," according to General Manager Kevin Porter. A public relations firm weighed in that being a military term used in the Air Force, the word "command" instantly suggests strength, teamwork and power-terms that reflect arena football and the B2 bomber logo. The Sprint Center remains the team’s home venue.

Each winner was a guest at the Miami Heat - OKC Thunder exhibition game, and will receive two season tickets to The Command, dinner with General Manager Kevin Porter and Head Coach Danton Barto, and a QuickTrip gift card.

The 2011 season schedule is being finalized by The Arena Football League, and will start in early to mid March. Season ticket information for The Command can be found at www.sprintcenter.com/arenafootball 

Arizona Rattlers Hire GM, Bring Back Coach, Quarterback

The Arizona Rattlers have made a number of offseason moves. The arena football team has re-signed Kevin Guy as coach and will bring back key quarterback Nick Davila and defensive lineman Anttaj Hawthorne.

Trey Medlock was named general manager, coming to the Rattlers from the Tulsa Talons.

The Rattlers finished 10-6 this season, losing in the first round of Arena Football League playoffs.

The future of stand-out wide receiver Rod Windsor and long-time Rattlers coach and executive Danny White are not as clear. Windsor is playing in the minor league United Football League for a team led by former Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green. Rattlers spokesman Scott Harkey said he expects White to continue to have a substantial role with the football team.

New Orleans VooDoo To Return

After a three-year hiatus, the New Orleans VooDoo name is returning to the new AFL, as the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings are relocating to New Orleans Arena for the 2011 season.

The new team will use the logos and claim the history of the previous New Orleans VooDoo, which was owned and managed by the NFL's New Orleans Saints. Otherwise, there are no ties at all between the Saints and the VooDoo.

Under owner Tom Benson, the VooDoo franchise was one of the most successful in the old AFL: it regularly packed New Orleans Arena and competed for championships. However, when Benson folded the team in 2008, he never really said what prompted his actions; the assumption was the lack of a clear business plan.

Owner Dan Newman is expected to announce the franchise shift today.

Arena Football League Names Chief Marketing And Revenue Officer

The Arena Football League, the indoor American football competition founded in 1987, has hired long-time sports marketing and media veteran Stuart Layne as its new Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer.

Layne - who had been President and Founder of his own sports and entertainment marketing agency, Seven 2 Sports Marketing, for the past eight years - will be responsible for generating league-wide interest and revenue as well as supporting team marketing and sales initiatives.

“We are thrilled to have found someone with Stuart‟s wide range of experiences,” said AFL Commissioner Jerry Kurz. “His national media background, success in corporate sponsorship development and his many years as a major league sports team marketer provides the league with a valuable resource on many levels.”

“This is an exciting time to join the Arena Football League,” added Layne. “Arena Football has always been an exciting and entertaining live sport and in today‟s economic environment sports fans are demanding affordable family entertainment. I am looking forward to developing impactful relationships for our fans and teams, and our media and marketing partners.”

A native New Yorker, Layne graduated from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University and spent 12 years in broadcasting before marketing the Seattle Mariners.